Cillis was afraid. But, like all young Matis of his age, he did not want to show it. Not in front of all the other Matis gathered in the shrine square of the Altar of Jena, and certainly not in front of his team-mate. The floating machine, made of that strange material the Karavan used, hummed and buzzed over their heads. Its guardians looked at it with impassive eyes and watched the surroundings.

Cautiously, the young Matis glanced at Nehi. She looked calm and composed, her chestnut hair tied back in a ponytail and her milky skin glistening in the morning sun. She was clutching the linking stick in her raised palm. Her grip was firm and her knuckles protruded slightly.

The kids had known each other for a long time and had started practicing running immediately after the draw two weeks before. He liked Nehi. There was only one thing that bothered him about her: when he looked at the girl, who was a head taller than him, he felt a strange pressure in his chest. As if something wanted to come out of him, but couldn't. She was a good running partner and despite her longer legs, she adapted to his speed and was careful not to pull too hard on the linking stick. The smooth dark wooden stick, about three cubits long, which didn't exactly make crossing the forest any easier.

As she listened intently to the words of the Yrkanis Intendant, Cillis's attention was also drawn to him.
"Homins!" said the Intendant in a loud voice.
"Proud Matis! Once again, a cycle completes its loop of eternal return. And once again, we gather here to celebrate this day and witness the traditional Race in Winter."
His words were punctuated by discreet applause and here and there cheers could be heard.
But not from the runners. They were all tense and some seemed nervous like week-old yubos. Cillis hoped the others would not attribute his shiver to emotion, but to the cold that was slowly seeping through his thin jacket. The Intendant continued:
"As with every change of cycle since our arrival in the New Lands, many young Matis are meeting here today to test their strength, courage, skill, honor and tenacity. And to show all of us Matis, that they are among the best that our people can produce."
Cries of joy erupted among the gathered homins. Cillis, in the atmosphere thus created, saw each applause dissipate a little of his fear.

Wham!
A snowball hit the back of his head. The young Matis turned and saw Bunis, the arrogant son of the Royal Guard lieutenant, slowly and smugly wiping his right hand on his doublet. His team-mate, Cordesi, was grinning like a gingo as he looked at Cillis. His running partner, Cordesi, was smiling the way gingos smile as he looked at Cillis. Nehi also turned and stared coldly at the two Matis.
"Anyway, that team of girls won't even make it to the Green Seeds," Bunis hissed.
And all around him, other runners were snickering behind their hands.

Before Cillis could reply, the Intendant's voice rang out again:
"The twenty teams present will begin their Race in Winter in a few minutes. Not all of them will have it easy and all will be tested. As always, experienced scouts are already posted throughout the woods who will report on the actions and behavior of the runners. These are subject to one rule only: no one must be hurt! As for the rest, the runners have the right to do anything that can give them an advantage. This year again, the race, starting from Yrkanis, will pass through Natae and Davae to end in Avalae. There, my colleague will welcome you and, after hearing the reports of the scouts, he will name the winners."

Cillis looked at Nehi again. She was slim and strong, a summer younger than him and yet taller. She was tapping her foot on the spot, like many of the children who were waiting, since light boots were not made for the snow. Cillis' toes were also tingling slightly, but he didn't want to look like a baby yubo. Tradition dictated that the race would be run in light refugee attire. That is, that of the first messengers between cities still under construction, long before, when materials for stronger cloth could not yet be collected.

"Everyone to the city gate, now!" shouted the Intendant.
"Come on homins! Let your race begin!"
At the call of the Intendant, a first team set off: two girls holding the stick tightly between them started to run along the road. It was a sign that they would not run to win, but that they only wanted to finish the race. Because the route along the marked road was both easier and longer than the direct route through the forest, whose snow-covered ground made running difficult.

Three more teams had yet to depart before Cellis and her partner. She gave him a smile that warmed his heart. But then he saw that Nehi too was terribly nervous: excitement shone in her eyes and little clouds came out of her lips at the rapid rhythm of her breathing.
"Well, what do you think? she said. Forest or road?"
A little surprised by the question and mortified that she might think him a coward, Cillis remained speechless for a moment. And his answer wasn't as confident as it should have been:
"Huh? F... forest... FOREST! Of course!"
Nehi continued to smile at him and seemed satisfied. Did she really think he would take the easy way out? He wasn't as big and strong as Bunis, but he was sure he could get through the forest.

Behind them, Cordesi whispered something in the ear of his well-built partner, who burst out laughing. Cillis glanced over his shoulder and saw him shove something into his pants pocket. When Bunis noticed his gaze, his mouth revealed a row of large teeth in a sneering smile.
"You know, kid. No rules, except one. Be careful not to let go of your stick."
With the flat of his hand, he gave Cillis a shove in the back and moved him forward a step, so that his and Nehi's arms suddenly strained on the stick. Now, if one of the runners dropped the stick connecting him to his teammate, it was considered clumsy or even "cheating": part of the challenge was to run together.

It was now Cillis and Nehi's turn to start. In a few moments, they too would begin their race. The young Matis' hands were beginning to cover with sweat as his breath rose before him in a thick cloud, like that of an excited bodoc.
"Come on Homins! Your race starts now!"
As they had been training that, they both started out with their right leg first and strived to keep a steady rhythm to their movements. As soon as they passed the city gate, they forked towards the forest, heading for the Matis Arena and following in the footsteps of their predecessors. It wasn't easy to keep pace in the snow. Cillis' heart was beating wildly. Despite their training and the cold, they soon began to sweat, but both continued to hurry under the thick roots and between the trees, making many frightened yubos scatter before them The stark, smooth wall of the huge wooden structure known as Matis Arena was soon in sight, and the morning sun glinted off the icy stalactites which hung there. The children threaded their way through the arches of homin-high roots that encircled the huge structure and passed its entrance before carrying on toward Natae.

There, the Village Welcomer of the place nodded to them from afar and then, taking advantage of a brief pause in their run, tied a first ribbo,, a blue one, on their staff. This was proof that they had passed the first step. But the hardest part was ahead of them: the crossing of the dense forest, along the edge of the plateau on which the green hills lay.

No sooner had they walked a few hundred yards and reached the edge of the cliff than they saw the slender bodies of predators slinking nimbly through the undergrowth. The children stopped their run.
"Damn it, Nehi whispered, if the pack spots us, only Jena can save us."
Her violet eyes betrayed fear, and Cillis was sure her friend could clearly read in his green eyes what he was thinking at that moment. Cautiously, he took a step back.
"Help! Can anyone hear me?! HELP!!!"
The deep voice of a homin, somewhere in front of them. The young Matis looked at each other, frightened.
"The ragus have surrounded someone over there," Cillis said in a trembling voice.
Nehi just nodded silently. In his eyes was an unspoken question. The boy's thoughts raced. He put the hand to his green-dyed hair and nervously twiddled there a long strand. Nehi bit her lower lip. The knees of both of them shook with cold, effort and fear. Then Nehi took a step forward. Cillis looked at her in surprise. She nodded her head.

In one motion, the two teenagers rushed forward. Screaming and yelling.
Cillis grabbed a branch from the ground and waved it violently over his head. The ragus jumped and scattered at first in instinctive flight, but they would soon recover from their fright and their pack was certainly stronger than the children.
"Hého! Kamis be thanked. Help me. Pull me up!!!"
The voice came from further down the cliff. They cautiously stepped forward to look over the edge. About ten feet below, a homin was crouched on a narrow ledge clinging to the cliff. The sturdy red-haired man looked up at the children and relief was evident on his hard, angular features. He carefully stood on his feet. His skin was brown and weathered, but his eyes shone with a yellow, golden glow like amber. He wore the garb of the messengers of the Imperial Guild of Pyr.

"A Fyros?" exclaimed Nehi.
They stared at the homin who smiled nervously at them.
"Yes. You're surprised, aren't you? But where are your parents? Are they taking care of those dirty beasts?" he asked in a surprisingly light-hearted tone.
"Um... No. Our parents are in Yrkanis." Cillis answered.
Nehi jabbed her elbow into his side, and the boy was about to protest when he saw the expression on the Fyros' face. That of despair.

"What? But... how am I supposed to get back up there then? And what will you do when the beasts come back?"
The children glanced at each other.
"We have to help him," said Cillis.
He looked his friend in the eye and his stomach tightened. She nodded. Cillis then released the stick.
"What are you doing?"
"No one see us, and you're stronger than me. Lower the stick toward him so he can pull himself up. I'm holding you."
A strange expression briefly appeared on Nehi's face, then she nodded resolutely and lay down on her stomach. Cillis grabbed her legs and pulled himself back with all his strength and weight. The stick barely reached the outstretched hands of the Fyros. The homin dashed above the shoulders of Nehi, who gritted her teeth. She felt Cillis' grip on her ankles tighten again, but slipped forward slightly.
"Don't let go!" exclaimed the Fyros, whose feet now dangled over the precipice.
Placing one hand on top of the other, he slowly pulled himself up the icy wooden wall.
Nehi, who could already feel himself slipping on the snow-covered ground, heard Cillis say through his clenched teeth:
"I'm slipping!"

"Come on, they can't be far ahead! We'll catch them up!"
The muffled call reached Cillis' ears from the forest. Bunis!
Cillis turned his head and saw their two competitors running some distance away. The stronger one was literally dragging his thinner partner through the snow.
"Bunis! Cordesi! Help us! Here!!!"
At Cillis's shout, the two runners stopped and looked around. Cordesi spotted him first and immediately began to sprint in his direction. But he was quickly called to order: Bunis pulled him in the opposite direction. Cillis' heart almost stopped beating. He couldn't believe it. Bunis, that son of a gingo! A wild swearword, familiar from his father, escaped him. A loud "Ooh!!!" rose from the cliff.
"Stop by children! Please!"
Nehi groaned. The muscles in his thin arms jutted out like taut ropes, close to breaking.

It was then that Cillis heard the growl behind him. He spotted a quick movement in the undergrowth to his left and then, soon after, another to his right, accompanied by a guttural bark.
"They're coming back!"
"Jena, we're not going to make it, Nehi groaned, he's too heavy."
"Hang in there, kids. You're almost done. Just a little more effort."
The words came nervously out of the breathless Fyros' mouth.
Cillis winced as he perceived movement near him again: a large, gaunt ragus was approaching, a hoarse growl escaping from its muzzle.

With its ears pressed to its skull, the animal crouched on its hind legs and prepared to pounce on its defenseless prey. Cillis let go of Nehi's right leg. They slid forward a little and her friend as well as the Fyros screamed in near unison in terror. Cillis grabbed the branch that was still near him in the snow and threw it at the leaping beast. With a crash, the branch struck the skull of the ragus, which was propelled by its own momentum over the edge of the cliff. Wrapped in a cloud of snow, the predator fell screaming toward the Fyros, who stepped aside in extremis to avoid being swept away by the animal as it wriggled in its fall. Nehi let out a grunt of pain. Once again, all three of them slid a little further. The girl's rib cage was now almost completely hanging over the precipice. If any of them lost their balance, it would be the end.

A second and third ragus appeared, and the commotion around the homins indicated that at least five more of these predators were approaching. The boy frantically waved the branch around, preventing the animals from jumping on him, at least for a time. But they would not hold out long. A short prayer to Jena formed in Cillis' head. It was heard.

Something clattered as hitting the trees the trees behind the boy's head and an avalanche of snow roared down, almost burying part of the ragus pack. The frightened animals immediately ran away into the nearby undergrowth. Another explosion was heard much close to one of the ragus, and the animal let out a short howl before fleeing.
Wild cries and calls were echoing through the forest. Through the trees, a group of children wielding branches and sticks were coming running. Bunis, in the lead, was using his stick as a club to hit the predators. He gave a loud shout of triumph as the ragus moved away. Then he approached Cillis, dropped his stick and grabbed Nehi's right leg. Two other boys dropped into the snow on either side of Nehi and each grabbed an arm of the Fyros. As two girls pulled Nehi by her vest with all their might, they together carried the homin over the edge of the precipice before falling seated in the snow.

They were laying next to each other, breathing heavily. Cillis was looking at the sky from where the crown of Jena, the great ringed planet, seemed to be looking down on him. When suddenly Cordesi entered his field of vision:
"Hey, you two! You are well settled there?" he said while smiling.
Cillis then noticed that Bunis' arm was resting on his chest. Surprised, he pushed him away and stood up abruptly. Nehi crouched to his left and smiled at him. The boy could clearly feel the blood rushing to his ears and the heat rising to his face. The two girls who had helped Nehi giggled and Cordesi burst out laughing.

Then, with a single blow, Cillis was pulled up and strong arms wrapped around his body.
"The blessing of the Kamis be upon you children!"
The Fyros sat Cillis on his shoulders and began to dance exuberantly and spin on the spot, clapping and shouting in his own language. Nehi laughed and Bunis held his belly laughing. However, Cillis didn't notice much of this. He felt like jumping into the precipice... just to escape this embarrassment.

It was a big surprise in Davae when the little party entered the city gate. Cillis was still on the shoulders of the Fyros, who had entertained them all the way with songs from his homeland and kept calling upon them for the blessing of the Kamis. Cordesi had shown them on the way what he had done to chase away the ragus: hidden in his pockets were a slingshot and a few firecrackers, simple firecrackers that nevertheless made more noise than anything else.
"But enough to alert other teams," he added with a smile.
Bunis admitted that he might have seemed despicable for taking his partner away from the calls for help. But he had seen the ragus roaming the forest and realized that alone they had no chance of providing effective help. So they explored the surrounding forest in search of other teams to assist them.

The city Intendant came to meet them and demanded to know what had happened, how it was that no team had arrived in Davae for so long and that such a large group was now showing up. The children immediately began to answer him, all babbling at once. But the red-haired Fyros soon raised his hands in a gesture of appeasement before asking for silence in a loud voice and following up:
"These children saved my life today. I thank you for having honored this day what they told me was a tradition of your people."
He briefly reported, in appropriate words, what had happened and emphasized the courage of the children. He particularly mentioned Nehi, who had held him so valiantly and for so long. The Intendant listened attentively and finally nodded. Then he reached into his vest and turned to the children:
"Here are the red ribbons. Anyone who wants to continue towards Avalae should get one as soon as possible."
Cillis fidgeted on the shoulder of the Fyros, who quickly set him down on the ground. Nehi had already handed the staff to the Village Welcomer, and now the red ribbon of Davae was floating on it. Cillis grabbed the stick and stood still. Next to them, Bunis and Cordesi received their ribbon. Then the two girls and finally the pair of boys. And it is united that the young Matis left Davae to carry out the rest of the route in group.

When they reached Avalae, a small crowd had gathered at the gate to welcome them. And when the Intendant of the city handed out the golden ribbons, the air filled with cheers and applause. When the last couple had arrived, they were joined by many residents of the other cities of the Majestic Garden who wanted to celebrate the end of the race with them all.
"Matis! Look at these kids who finished the Race in Winter. They all proved that they have endurance, strength and courage. But some of them have accomplished something special in this blessed year."
He paused briefly to wave to the group surrounding Cillis and Nehi. Their faces flushed with excitement, the children stepped forward. Then the Steward's voice thundered over the assembly:
"These children have dropped their sticks!"
At these words, silence fell upon the crowd. Cillis was shocked. Nehi, Bunis and the others also seemed stunned.
"They broke a tradition of the race. They're all 'cheaters'."
He looked at each of the children sternly before raising his voice again.
"However, they did the right thing! They acted in the spirit of the race. They understood the meaning of it. A life was saved because these kids put the important and the right above the simple rules of the game and understood the value of cooperation."
The applause started again, all the children were hoisted onto shoulders and the real party could finally begin.

Amidst the hubbub of the crowd, Cillis found his parents and ran to them. His mother embraced him effusively and if a father were ever to stand prouder than his, his vest would surely explode. Then a hand came to rest on Cillis' shoulder. Turning, he discovered Nehi accompanied by the fyros messenger.
"Now, you two, I must go on and complete my mission," said the latter. "I owe my life to you, it was you who found me and you had the courage to help me. I thank you for that. May the Kamis protect you. And if one day you come to Pyr, ask for Collix Becoubs. This is my name, and you will always be welcome in my home, always."